There have been rumours circulating for some time about the structure of the Hubbed business being promoted to newsagents by the ANF. I have not written about them here as I waited to see if the situation would clarify. It is taking longer than expected.
A lack of disclosure is leaving newsagents considering Hubbed vulnerable.
At the heart of the situation as I understand it is the ownership of Hubbed. It could be that some of the key people newsagents ultimately deal with at Hubbed are different to those they thought were behind Hubbed.
Since the rumours started circulating here has been plenty of miscommunication about the issues. The ANF has been a party to this, as they have been with Hubbed all along. They have invested considerably in Hubbed and have, indeed, tied their success as an association to the success of Hubbed.
Newsagent uptake of Hubbed has not been what the business expected. Their roll out is not where they needed it to be. If they don’t get the numbers they need the model does not work. if it does not work and ultimately closes, newsagents could be left with financial lease agreements for equipment they took on specifically for Hubbed – like what happened with Bill Express.
Anyone facing signing a Hubbed contract should undertake thorough due diligence including getting documented clarity from a Director of the company as it where it is at right now in relation to their business plan projections.
Given what the ANF knows and given their active promotion of Hubbed, they owe newsagents a statement. Anyone signing with Hubbed based on the current ANF pitch is doing so without all the information the ANF could / should share.
The ANF would lose whatever credibility they have left. And they don’t have that much to play with.
John their failure to keep newsagents informed of material changes relating to the Hubbed pitch is of itself a failure on their part to serve their constituency. While they should always put newsagents first, it could be that a commercial agreement blocks this.
agree with you Mark
that is why I said credibility. They are supposed to be for Newsagents but there actions say other
I was surprised to learn today that they last month moved to the ANF office.
The whole thing stinks to high heaven.
There is a report that Matt Handbury is no longer involved.
Mark surely the ANF and its directors are opening themselves up to claims for legal compensation via failure to have provided duty of care based on thier advice to those they represent should Hubbed not turn out to be what was represented ?
I just heard the funniest thing – someone said there us a rumour I’m being paid by NParcel to talk down Hubbed. Nope, not true. I’ve never been paid to publish anything here. Hubbed and the ANF create the impetus for what I write.
Paul, I’m not sure about the position of the Directors as there is no publicly stated change to arrangements re Hubbed.
The ANF is still selling it here. Lotsa pressure.
It looks like Matt Handbury has been airbrushed from the Hubbed website. Just a few months ago in Stationery News Matt was being lauded:
STN: What is the background to former Murdoch Magazine’s boss Matt Handbury’s involvement?
DM: When looking for a key partner it was important to consider someone who had a deep connection with the channel and understood our vision.
Matt not only understands our vision, he has redefined it. When we spent time together discussing the opportunity to do something transformative it felt like the perfect match.
Matt wants to be a part of this change within the channel. He plays an active role and has strong opinions of the competition as anyone who read his piece in the Australian Financial Review recently would know.
http://www.stationerynews.com.au/news/digital-kiosks-to-connect-with-newsagencies
Is anyone here an ANF member? Would love to see one of their members issue a please explain on this issue.
There are newsagents talking it up on the Hubbed blog. I expect there will be an announcement from the ANF about Hubbed this week. There should be at least.